Andrew Carnegie Quotes

Strong men know when to compromise.

It's a necessary quality of a diplomat or a politician that he will compromise. Uncompromising politicians or diplomats get you into the most terrible trouble.

Let no one think that flexibility and a predisposition to compromise is a sign of weakness or a sell-out.

I'm a compromiser and a maneuverer. I try to get something. That's the way our system works.

I could sit down and talk with the devil if necessary.

If I believe in something, I will fight for it, with all I have. But I do not demand all or nothing. I would rather get something than nothing.

The 'morality of compromise' sounds contradictory. Compromise is usually a sign of weakness, or an admission of defeat. Strong men don't compromise, it is said, and principles should never be compromised.

When an opponent comes forward, move in and greet him; if he wants to pull back, send him on his way.

You can cooperate and not compromise your core values. But I'm a realist with the philosophy that sometimes you've got to take bites out of the apple instead of the whole apple.

I will deal with the politicians in a political way and with the nonpoliticians in a nonpolitical way.

In politics, you must let the other person have your way.

Sometimes a little compromise isn't a bad thing. You don't need to be precious about it.

I've learned that in order to achieve what I wanted, it made more sense to negotiate than to defend the autonomy of my work by pounding my fist on the table.

The secret of America is compromise. Compromise is a sign of weakness in any other country. In America it is a great strength.

I would rather be an opportunist and float than go to the bottom with my principles around my neck.

No society ... can fail in time to explode if it is deprived of the arts of compromise .... No good society can be unprincipled and no viable society can be principle-ridden.

Persistence in one opinion has never been considered a merit in political leaders.

A ruler must learn to be other than good.

You can't learn too soon that the most useful thing about a principle is that it can always be sacrificed to expediency.

There are times when public men must be able to accept ridicule and defeat, and wait for time either to prove them right, or to give them another chance. There are other times when it is probably wiser to compromise on half victories, so long as the trend is in the right direction. To do this effectively, however, and wisely is a very difficult thing.

I learned a long time ago in politics, never say never.

You can compromise without violating your principles, but it is nearly impossible to compromise when you turn principles into ideology.

I don't know how you can govern without ever compromising.

I've got my own mind, and I'll talk about it, but I'm willing to listen. I'm very balanced like that. If you don't want a guy who's balanced, who wants to win, and can bring people together well... I don't know.

People can be sensitive, so if I need to, I'll suck it up and be more flowery. I'll do what it takes to get the outcome I want. As I like to say, sometimes you have to crouch to conquer.